Quartz oscillator plate



Feb. 14, 1950 w. H. E. sAMUELsoN QUARTZ OSCILLATOR PLATE Filed OG.. 6, 1945 4, d @ik N ww 1 0 ,mm M

9,-. 7 a n 00 mf r fwd.; mfg:

villa Patented Feb. 14, 1950 alarms "Quan'rzvo'scum'ron PLATE Wallace "H, E. Samuelson, Weehawken, N. J asf signor, Vby mesne assignments, -to fReeves AHoll- V`man Corporationyarlislamya corporation of Pennsylvania Applcatio'nfOctbet f6, :1945, SeriilNoJSZIl'ZZ :This zinvention .relates ato 'lthe irmanuiacture viol ,quam oscillator plates fand the 'like and fhas v-or :itsfobject certain improvements :in ysuch products Ias"anarticle 'of manufacture.

Quartz oscillator plates tenditolose activity on ageing, for example., fby .being stored. Various treatments `oi' fthe plates have been vproposed to 'restore the'activity o'flthe p1ates,lat'least in large part. Among suchtreatments isthatofsputtering the plates rwithf a suitable metal, such :as "gold. :r

Thezmost :common method is :to-.cover the plates lcompletely with a'thinlayeror `'coating of fgold, :not .only the surfaces fof the xtwo major :sides for laces lbut also vv.the :surfaces o'f `.the edge portions .of the plates. For oscillating purposes, cthe 'plates .must have .high :electrical :resistance ibe ftween the surfaces fof the 'itwo'fmajor faces :and it is, l"therefore,necessarysto remove :the-gold from .fthe edges oithe plates. 'Thisis-usually `dol'iehy fsbrading `.the .gold froxn fthe edge portions 'oi the plates. .As fa result :of the fabrading A'opei'ation, ltheoscillator .plates arefrequentlyfscratched, and this in '.turn :impairs their .oscillating characV teristi'cs.

.The l all-'gold coated :oscillator plates tend vito have further :undesired characteristics. .For iexaxnple, they tend to have a lower activity than .that "of theauncoated, butfunagedffplates. jSome 'of :the Icoated .oscillator 'plates :also tend "to oscil- .late with .ta spurlousirequency. This .latter strait is especially detrimental 'because ilts occurrence produ'ciblefeven in itliefsaine oscillator plate.

'funcoated fquartz oscillator lplate "which sexhibits tions and thus :minimize .greatly the chances o'f i scratching .or otherwise impairing the two main surfaces of the oscillator plates.

In accordance with the product of theinvention, .the Yquartz oscillator plate containsa nlm 'of a sultablemetal on substantially'the ventire 'surlace 'of fone side of the plate and a similar :film of "metal on fa spotlocated on the other side 'fo'f theplate.

"The two 'main "sides or surfaces l"of "the oscillator -plates lare advantageously 'covered slmulta- -l Atus -ne'ously=with'metaliinsthemannerindicated. This vis ferratlc, :unpredictable fand not necessarily fre .scisma miur-asv) .can he done in such fa `-waythat the 'side of .the "plate containing the-.spot Iwill .containho metallic :deposit 'other than -*the Slllfot. This spot is ad vvaritageously located centrali-yet the oscillator .plateiandzis preferably 'of'rpredetermined size, depending 'upon the size and intended use of the oscillator plate.

i'In Aa .presently `preferred practice of the ln Vvention, 'the metallicillms are deposited on the oscillator-.plates by means vof ahigh voltage across 'fa metal fanode and one or imoremetal cathodes operating .ln an evacuated chamber having the necessary electrical connections. The cathode `disintegrates and the .metal'of which it is .made iis fdeposited vor vtends to ydeposit: upon the `anode yas :an extremely l.thin andihomogeneous illm. .A flat; sheet ci' .plate of aluminum is 'advantageously .employed 'as Athe anode, ithe anode `being `punched with 'a plurality .of spaced :holes of a size corre'- l.spending tothemetallic spots to be placed on the oscillator :.plates. The -cathodes are `savants-- geously made .of gold. The'anode Vplate Lis horlzontally :disposed .and equidistantly spaced be.- tween ia '.'p'air ofthe lcathodes in :a Ypresent pracnti'cexif'the invention.

'The'.osclllator plates are yplaced on the alumi- V'num Inode, fea'ch plate :being ycentered :over one oitheholesinthemnode. The upper surface of `beach 'Y oscillator nplate is 4completely exposed, .as is so much ofthelower surface of each oscillator plate-foyerithe holes. :The .remainder Yof thelower :surface of .the 'oscillator `plates is .in contact with :the yaluminum anode and is, therefore,

.mashed oi'l.

Theicha'mber is evacuated iin the usual manner .and high Avoltage current .is .passed across the anode and .cathodes This causes the vgold in the cathodes gradually -`to disintegrate, lllllng the chamberwithfgold vapor which vrdeposits vor tends to Vdeposit fon the .aluminum anode and, therefore, .deposits latillm v'on the exposed upper surx'face of .the oscillator plates and so much of the under surfac'eof the oscillator plates as lsex- ,posed 'by the 'holes :in .the .aluminum anode.

The invention -will be better understood by reierrin'gtovthe accompanying drawing, taken ,in .conjunction 4Ivvith 'the :following description, in which Fig. .l 'is'a side elevation Virl-section on the line -II fof lFig. 2 of anfapparatus Villustrative of a practiceof the invention;

FiggE-isfaplan viewip'artly insection and partly: 'iragmentary--sectlonsiotfthe same appara? quartz oscillator Fig. 7 is an enlarged end view of the quartz` oscillator plate of Fig. 6; and i Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 8--8 of Fig. 4.

Referring first to Fig. l, the lapparatus shown comprises a glass bell-jar or cover i, dening a chamber II. The lower circumferential edge portion I2 of the bell-jar fits snugly within an annular groove I3 of a rubber gasket I4 resting on a metal base I5. `The bell-jar and 'rubber gasket are readily removable as a unit from the steel base. One end of ac'onduit I6 is non-leakably screwed into 'an opening I1 in base I5, thus rcommunicating with chamber II, and the other end of the conduit connects with a source of vacuum, not shown. Y The partsvlocated within chamber II comprise a pair of spaced metallic cathodes and vZI and a metallic anode 22 midway between the two, all horizontally disposed to base i5. In a presently preferred practice, the cathodes are formed of 'gold and the anode of aluminum. Thus, upper cathode '2G is formed of a thin sheet'of gold or gold foil 23 underlying an appropriately vsupported upper aluminum plate 211'; the overlying e'dgeportion'25 oli the lgold sheettbeing bent upwardly and over the top of the edge 'portions of a glass plate 25 resting on the top of the upper aluminum` plate; In similar fashion, lower cath'- 'ode 2| is also formedof 'a thin sheet of gold or gold foil- 21 overlyingan appropriately supported lower aluminum plate 28, the overlying edge portion 23 of the gold sheet being bent downwardly and over the top of the edge portion of an appropriately supported glass lplate 3i! located immediately below the lower aluminum plate.

As shown, upper aluminumplate '24 and lower aluminum plate 28 are held in position by two oppositely located vertical supports 35 and 35, the former being provided with an electrical conductor. Thus, support consists of a vertically disposed conductor rod 31 threaded at both ends, the lower end of which extends through an openingin base I5 andthe upper end of which vex'- tends through a slotted opening 38 in a shoulder portion 29 of upper aluminum plate 2li.V The conductor rod is held inv position by means of a nut 4B secured well above the lower-endof the rod, an insulating washer 4I being disposed between the nut and vthe lower side of base I5, and a truncated porcelain insulator 42, the lower portion of 'which is reduced in size to fit snugly in the same opening of the base through'which the rod extends, thus forming a shoulder portion 43 resting upon the base. The truncated porcelain insulatorts around an enlarged lower secf tion of the conductor rod, the upper end of the enlarged section being threaded to receive -'a stop nut '44'. The conductor rod extends through a slotted opening in a shoulder portion 45 of lower aluminum plate 28 which rests on the nut. AA cylindrical porcelain insulator 46 ts around the upper and reduced section 41- ofA the conductor rod, the lower end, of the insulator resting on the top of shoulder portion 45 of lower aluminum plate 28. The upper end of the insulator termi-f 75;

v.threaded at both ends to receive nuts 56 and 4 nates at the upper threaded end of the conductor rod. Shoulder portion 39 of upper aluminum plate 24 is located on the upper end of the insulator and is secured thereto by means of a nut 48 turned tightly on the upper threaded portion of the conductor rod.

Vertical support 36! is advantageously constructed inthe same manner as vertical support 35. It is therefore unnecessary to describe its construction in detail. It consists of a rod 55 51, and thereby hold in place truncated insulator s. 53,1nut 59, slotted shoulder 60 of lower aluminum plate 28, cylindrical insulator 6I and slotted shoulder 62 `of upper aluminum plate '24. In the construction shown, however, vertical support 35 is not designed'to form part of an electrical circuit.

Returning to vertical support 35, its electrical connection is provided -by means of a high voltage vline 55 connectible with a source of current, not shown, and a terminal 66 secured to conductor rod 31. The terminal is disposed between nut fill and a securing nut 61 on the lower end of the conductor rod.

^ Turning next to anode 22, it will be notedthat it is held in position by three spaced vertical supports 10, 1l and 12. They aresimilar inconstruction, except that the latter is connectible electrically with the source of high voltage current to be employed. Thus, vertical support 12 consists of a vertically disposed conductor rod 13 threaded at both ends, the lower end of which extends through an opening in base I5 and the upper end of whichfextends through a slotted opening 14 ina shoulder portion 15 of aluminum plate 22. Thefconductor rod' is held in position by means of a nut 16 secured to the lower end of the rod, an insulating bushing 11; which ts snugly in the hole in thebase, acylindrical porcelain insulator -18 and a nut 13 secured tothe upper end of the conductor rod. The electrical connectionis providediby meansof a high voltage line 8l?, connectible with the source of high voltage current, and a terminal 8 l The terminal is disposed between nut 16 and insulating bushing 1 y Still referringrto anode 2'2, which, as'stated, is an aluminum plate, in apresently preferred practice of the invention, it will be noted that its top'portion is subdivided :into a plurality of rectangular recessesjif spaced from one another by relatively narrow criss-cross top portions 86 off the aluminum plate. The rectangular recesses are preferably cfa size easilyrto accommodate rectangular quartz .oscillator plates 81.' While rectangular recesses are shown, it will be obvious that they may be circular or in other. desired cone figuration. In the construction shown, each re-` cess-isprovided with a centrally located hole 88, preferably of predetermined'size so as to make possible a sputtered spot of predetermined'size'. An advantage of the recess is that when an oscillator plate isplaced therein, it is automatically centered ,or aligned with the hole in the recess so lthat the spot of the oscillator plate to be spnttered is centrally located.4

vReferring again to Aanode 22, as more particularly illustrated in Fig. 6, .a modiiiedpractice` is shown in part. .It may be desirabley tosputter a spot on both major faces of the oscillator plates. This may be accomplished, for example, by place ing- -a mask `89 on the top of" anode 22, themask being provided with a plurality of suitably spacedenorme holes 90, preferably juxtaposed to holes 88 in the anode proper.

Glass plate 30, which is located immediately below and preferably in contact with lower aluminum plate 28 forming a part of the lower cathode construction, is freely supported on three vertically disposed and spaced supports 9|, 92 and 93, resting on base I5. The supports may, for example, be formed of cylindrical porcelain, such as used in the other vertical supports. The supports for the glass plate may merely rest on the base, although they may be secured thereto, if desired.

The apparatus described may be operated as follows in the practice of the invention:

With bell-jar I0 removed, a quartz oscillator plate 81 is placed in each recess 85 of anode 22. The bell-jar is then returned to cover the anodecathodes-assembly and chamber Il is evacuated through conduit I8 to a suitable subatmospheric pressure. High voltage current is next applied across terminals 68 and 8| and thus across cathode 20 and anode 22 and across anode 22 and cathode 2|. This causes gold foil 23 of cathode 20 and gold foil 21 of cathode 2l gradually to disintegrate, filling chamber Il with sputtered gold vapor. Some of the gold vapor is deposited on exposed surfaces of the quartz oscillator plates to form a thin and homogeneous lm. The top and edge and the bottom circular spot surfaces, being the only portions of the oscillator plates thus exposed, are therefore covered with gold in this manner. After a suitable interval of time, enough to deposit the desired amount of gold, the application of current is discontinued and the vacuum broken; after which the bell-jar is removed and the treated oscillator plates are removed. In Figs. 4 and 5, the deposit is shown as a top and edge lm 95 and a bottom spot 9B.

If, on the other hand, it is desired to sputter a spot on each major face of oscillator plates 81, mask 89 is placed on the top of anode 22. As sputtering of gold from cathodes 20 and 2l takes place, spots 89 are also placed on the oscillator plates. Portions of the oscillator plates covered by the mask will then obviously not be sputtered with the gold. When the spots are centered in the manner indicated, they provide electrode contacts, which brings the electric field to the center of the oscillator plates where it does the most good.

While in the practice described above high voltage cathode sputtering is employed, it will be clear to those skilled in this art that other means may be employed to deposit the film of metal in the manner desired. Arc sputtering may also be used. Pencils of the metal to be deposited may be brought together with a suitable electromotive-force applied between them. A

voltage may be applied between the cathode of the arc and the oscillator plate to cause the metal ions to pass over the exposed surface of the plate to be coated. Various evaporation methods may be employed, such as distillation of the metal to be deposited from a heated container in the chamber, or thermal evaporation of the metal, for example, as a coating from heated tungsten filament. It will thus be clear to those skilled in this art that the practice of the invention lends itself readily to a number of highly useful modifications.

Iclaim:

l. As an article of manufacture, a quartz oscillator plate, a lm of suitable deposited metal on and completely covering the entire surface of one major face of said plate, and a spot-like film of similar deposited metal on the opposite major face of said plate having its entire edge spaced inwardly from the edge of said plate.

2. As an article of manufacture, a quartz oscillator plate, a lm of suitable metal on substantially the entire surface of one major face of said plate, a similar spot-like film of metal on the other major face of said plate, and a lm of metal on the edges of said plate and comprising a continuation of the lm substantially covering the entire surface of the first mentioned major face of the plate.

3. As an article of manufacture, a quartz oscillator plate, a film of suitable metal on substantially the entire surface of one major face of said plate, a similar spot-like film of metal centrally located on the other major face of said plate, and a film of metal on the edges of said plate and comprising a continuation of the film substantially covering the entire surface of the first mentioned major face of the plate.

4. As an article of manufacture, a quartz oscillator plate, a lm of gold on substantially the entire surface of one major face of said plate, a similar spot-like film of gold on the other major face of said plate, and a film of gold on the edges of said plate and comprising a continuation of the lm substantially covering the entire surface of the first mentioned major face of the plate.

WALLACE H. E. SAMUELSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,848,630 Hulburt Mar. 8, 1932 1,915,368 Lack June 27, 1933 2,178,224 Diehl Oct. 31, 1939 2,249,933 Bechmann July 22, 1941 2,343,059 Hight Feb. 29, 1944 

